Kings of the North
by Professor King
Summary: When seven Canadian teenagers log onto Elder Tale for the first time in years; and on the Japanese server on top of that, they never expected to be sent to another world. Who would? Now, Enzo has to take charge to keep his fiends together, because he won't handle them being separated again. Their guild: Kings of the North. Their leader: Shitsunen, The Oblivion King! M for Language!
1. Prologue

_**Kings of the North**_

_**By King KK IX**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Log Horizon or any of its characters, I'm simply abusing- er... using... them for my own personal amusement.**_

_Summary: Thirteen year old Crescenzo Giuliano never expected to become a transfer student in a million years, but you know; shit happens? Separated from his friends due to his love of Anime and the Japanese language, Enzo became secluded; an outcast that nobody knew, only saw. So, when his six friends suddenly show up at the door to his apartment on the day of his sixteenth birthday, he's more than elated as they engage in the one activity that brought - and kept- them together; playing Elder Tale! So then why the heck did he wake up in the middle of a dilapidated city run-over by nature, his six friends by his side, without a single memory pointing as to how they ended up there? And what's this about an Apocalypse!_

Rated M for excessive use of swearing (because I like to portray my friend's characters as they are, including their swearing habits).

_**Prologue - Apocalyptic Results**_

_Every day is the beginning of the rest of our lives..._

_- King_

_Beugh-beugh-beugh-beugh..._ _**smash!**_

'Gah... freakin' alarm clock...'

The mop of brown hair shifted over under the thin covers of the twin bed he lay in, groaning as he pulled his disproportionately large fist from the sparking wreckage of what was once an alarm clock. He lay still for only a moment before rolling over and sitting up sideways, his deep brown pools still half-lidded in drowsiness. His hand blindly wandered across the desk beside his bed, before finally grasping onto what they had been looking for. Picking up the thin, blue wire-frame glasses without an upper rim, the boy shoved them onto his face, and the world suddenly became much more clear.

Using his torso to haul his body up onto its feet - because he was too lazy to use his arms, they'd already done their morning workout trying to find his glasses - sixteen year old Crescenzo (Kre-shen-zo) Giuliano (Jew-lee-ah-no) lazily dragged his - like his hands - disproportionately large feet over the carpeted bedroom floor. He deposited himself before the slightly-on-the-small-side hanging mirror beside the door on the side of the room opposite his bed, gazing with a slight grin at the person reflected back.

At sixteen years of age - to the day - Crescenzo was rather proud of who he was. He stood at 173.5cm, just hitting the 5'9 mark, and was one of the tallest kids in his class. He especially relished in this, and considering the fact that he had been standing nine inches shorter just three years prior, and in the two years after that had only grown three inches, it was well-founded relish. He was a healthy 62.5kg, about 145lbs, had broad - slightly slumped due to years of carrying a heavy schoolbag - shoulders and strong arms. He had really let his hair go over the past couple of years, it having grown thick and wild. It rested just past his neck, and his bangs nearly hung in his eyes. His dark brown hair was slightly curly, giving it a rather messy, lazy and unkempt appearance that many of the girls at Kokuou High fell head-over-heels for.

It branched off into what Crescenzo liked to call 'wings' of hair as the hair on the sides of his head tried to find somewhere to grow. Though his hair was naturally a dark, Maplewood brown, there were a few strands of his bangs that had become naturally tinged a lighter brown in the heavy sun of southern Japan.

As his eyes continued to wander over his only-clad-in-loose-sweatpants form in the mirror, they caught sight of the small round clock sitting above the headrest of his bed.

...Or, more specifically, the position of the minute hand.

"Shit!"

Suddenly bursting into action, Crescenzo practically dove for the door to his washroom, quickly brushing his teeth as he slipped out of his loose black sweatpants. Spitting into the sink, he dashed out into his apartment living room and grabbed the school uniform he'd prepared the night before and laid out over the back of the couch.

Rushing past the small island that made up his kitchen, Crescenzo quickly pulled out a small black pouch out from its position above the microwave. Unzipping it, he flipped it open and popped open the small capsule inside. He pulled out a small white strip with some kind of microchip on one end, and slid the mechanical end into a small blue device with a plain screen.

The device lit up, displaying a few random numbers as Crescenzo pulled out a navy blue plastic tube, loading and cocking the back. He placed the side of his long pointer finger flush against a thin hole in the other end of the tube, before pressing down hard on the back-end.

This activated the tube's spring loaded mechanism, and for a split-second, the tiny needle that was inside of his pierced the flesh of his finger.

It drew a single, bright red drop of his crimson life-blood, a drop that Crescenzo held up against the white strip he'd placed into the other blue device. It absorbed his blood, and the teen put his finger to his lips, licking off any excess blood; the wound had already healed.

Quickly the device counted down, its display showing _...5 ...4 ...3 ...2 ...1 ...3.3!_

"Fucknuggets!" Yeah, he swore in odd ways, big deal? No one was around to call him out on it anyway...

'Damn it, 3.3? My blood sugar's low, no wonder I was so out of it this morning.'

You see, his odd, western appearance and true-Italian name weren't the only odd things about Crescenzo Giuliano. At ten months old, early in the morning on a cold, november day, Crescenzo had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. His body no longer accepted the insulin - an important hormone that broke down the carbohydrates (sugars) in a person's body - that his pancreas was producing. He'd have to control his glucose levels himself for the rest of his life, through the help of man-made insulin and constant needle injections.

Now, at the current moment in time, Crescenzo's blood glucose, or blood sugar, was at 3.3, which meant he had less sugar in his body than was actually required to properly function. Normally, a diabetic's sugar is supposed to be somewhere between a range of 4.8 and 7.8, though these were 'perfect' results. Anywhere between 8.0 and 9.0 was still fine, but the glucose still needed to be monitored and brought down a little. Anything above that, however, was what is known as a 'high', where the diabetic must inject a certain amount of insulin to reduce the blood glucose to normal levels. Though 'lows' did not happen often, Crescenzo knew how to treat them properly.

Grabbing a juice box from his rather empty fridge and a soft piece of toast from the bag on the counter, Crescenzo rushed to the door and threw on his coat to battle the chilly January air. As he downed his juice box, he sprinted down the hallway, only realizing that he'd forgotten his shiny blacks shoes _and_ that he hadn't even locked the door to his apartment in his haste to make the train to school.

Making sure that he hadn't forgotten anything (this time), Crescenzo nearly face-palmed, bread hanging from his lips and all, as he noticed, or rather, the lack thereof, of weight on his shoulders.

He'd forgotten to grab his bag as well.

'Baka,' he thought to himself, having picked up some odd habits due to living in a Japanese environment and going to a Japanese school, yet still speaking to himself in English when he was alone. Even with his still heavily-English-influenced thoughts, sometimes he just called out or thought about single Japanese words, like what he'd just called himself in his thoughts; idiot.

Crescenzo made it to the train just in time; barely squeezing his frame through the closing train doors as he rushed passed the multitudes of people crowding the platform. Finding himself a secluded corner to stand in, Crescenzo munched on his cold, soft bread as he let his thoughts wander before they'd be stuck on the today's lessons in school.

_(Kokuou High School - English: Italics, Japanese: Normal Font)_

Sad, light blue eyes stared at the messy mane of brown hair sitting in front of her, not giving any of the girls swooning around him the time of day as he focused on trying to copy down the notes their sensei had written down on the blackboard.

Though she sat near him, she didn't swoon over him and try to gain his attention like her classmates did. Sure, she thought he was good looking, especially for a foreigner, and he wasn't a self-centered asshole like most 'cool' or 'hot' guys were, but she couldn't help but find him an enigma.

Crescenzo Giuliano was probably the most popular guy in their grade. Everyone loved him; the girls would swoon over him and the guys thought he was cool. He was good at sports, but not great, he did well in school, he was respectful to the senseis and his peers... but once the school day ended he just seemed to... vanish.

She honestly couldn't put a finger on him. He was popular, but didn't seem to have any actual friends, or hang out with anyone. He did no extracurricular activities, nobody knew where he lived or what his phone number was, and he never really seemed to smile, only twitching up his lips whenever he found it necessary to do so.

She felt saddened by the fact that this boy, who seemed so kind, could disappear from their lives forever, and they would never remember who he was. He was anonymous, just another face, and that disheartened the teenage girl.

She had wanted to talk to him for over a year now, but every time she did her crush got in the way and she'd suddenly become shy and afraid to speak; so she never did. But this time... this time she'd do it! She'd speak to him, become his friend, if just to know that if he ever did disappear that someone would remember him.

The final bell rang, and the girl quickly gathered her books, barely catching a head of brown hair exiting the room. With quick steps she chased after him, her pretty blue eyes scanning the hallway as her light brown hair fluttered behind her. Her tiny, button nose was scrunched in concentration, and her rounded cheeks puffed up slightly when she couldn't spot his tall frame anywhere in the hall- _there!_

She took off without warning, having spotted him turning the corner as he - most likely - headed off to his locker.

She lost him for a little while, and when she found she could no longer find the boy of her affections, she turned around and began trudging back down the hallway, thoroughly disheartened.

She took a shortcut towards her locker by heading through a pair of heavy double doors that led outside. Though it would be cold, the trip was very short from one side of the building to the other, where the 'A-D' section of lockers could be found. With the surname of 'Allinson', she was guaranteed a locker positioned somewhere by one of the school's many entrances and exits.

As she crossed the courtyard, shivering, she was startled by the loud hollering of a boy a little distance off to her right. Distracted, she looked, and a thought ran through her mind in an instant.

'Foreigner...'

He was tall, taller even than Crescenzo, with short brown hair and a thin beard running down from his sideburns, beneath his chin and connecting across his jaw line to the other side. He also had his hands cupped around his mouth as he yelled something at the top of his lungs - which was rather loud, mind you - in a language she couldn't understand.

_"YO ENZO! GET YOUR MIDGET-ASS OUTSIDE! WE'RE TIRED OF WAITING FOR YOU, ALREADY!"_

Samantha Allinson had seen many things in her life - she watched too much anime - but never in her life had she seen Crescenzo Giuliano move so quickly before. She watched as he slid across the icy courtyard, coming to a stop before the group of six, foreign teenage boy with what had to be _the_ most surprised look _ever_ on his face.

_"What the hell are you- how did you- I don't- what the fuck are you doing here? How? Why? What the f-"_ He was cut off when the boy who'd been hollering in another language began to laugh and wrapped his arm around Crescenzo's shoulder, pulling him down and rubbing his knuckles against the brunet's skull.'

The group of six boys all seemed to greet Crescenzo differently, and Sam couldn't help but notice the differences between them.

The first, the one who'd hollered, was one of the taller ones. He had light brown hair, a toned frame that nearly screamed 'athlete', and a warm, crooked grin. He seemed to be making most of the others laugh, so Sam pegged him as the jokester. (Though she still couldn't understand what they were saying.) He was also only dressed in a pair of beige kakis and a white t-shirt, the cold winter air not seeming to bother him at all.

The second boy she noticed was a hyperactive boy talking a mile-a-minute. He was the same height as Crescenzo, with straight blonde hair and he had a big grin on his face. He was far more bundled up than the first boy, but even then, he should have still felt the cold air, but it didn't look like he even noticed that it was cold outside.

The third boy was... would calling him a mountain be rude? Well, it was certainly appropriate. The kid was _huge_, standing a good head-and-a-half taller than Crescenzo. He wasn't built like the people Sam had seen in those workout commercials, but he wasn't nearly fat. Maybe he was just big-boned? Who knew... Anyway, this one also had light brown hair, but unlike the first boy's, his was wispy and clung to his head.

The fourth was, like the boy before, an odd one, but for entirely different reasons. He had a light brown complexion, and stood just as tall as the first boy... but the curly mass of pure _afro_ making itself into a mushroom on top of his head added at least another two, maybe three inches to his height. His posture was slouched, and he wore and unzipped white hoodie with a pair of headphones around his neck.

The fifth boy had hair that was strikingly similar to the first boy's, if only maybe a shade darker, but he stood at the same height as Crescenzo. He seemed relaxed, simply smiling as Crescenzo moved to ruffle his hair. He, like his taller friend, wore only a t-shirt and a pair of red shorts.

The final boy of their off group had slightly curly, short-cropped black hair, with a rather buff appearance. He had broad shoulders and big arms, his head just barely above Crescenzo's own crown. What was different about him, however, was when he began to speak. It was slightly choppy, but Sam could clearly understand him.

"So Enzo, how's Japan been treating you?" he smirked at the gaping expression on the Italian's face, Crescenzo's jaw slowly flapping open and closed as he tried to process what his friend had just said.

_"What the actual fuck!_ When the hell did you learn to speak Japanese?" The boy seemed to have a smug look on his face as he bumped fists with Crescenzo.

"You're not the only one who became obsessed with anime," Crescenzo just continued staring at the boy open-mouthed, but grins slowly began to stretch across their faces as they pretty much sized each other up. Then, the two of them spoke the same words, at the same time.

"Sword Art Online?"

And the grins turned into heavy laughter as the group of boys seemingly became, not acquainted, but re-acquainted with the lonely, foreign boy who had been going to her school for the past three years.

_"So, what are you all doing here?"_ To Sam, it sounded as if Crescenzo was asking a question, simply by the tone of his voice. The first boy was the one to respond.

He pulled a standard backpack off of his back and opened up a zipper, pulling out a laptop, and something that Sam recognized _very_ well.

_Elder Tale_, her favorite video game.

So did that mean... these boys were here to play Elder Tale with Crescenzo? Why would a bunch of foreigners come to Japan to play a world renowned computer game with one boy?

Oh well, it was none of her business, why should she care?

But... she couldn't help noticing the smile, small, but genuine, that lit up Crescenzo's face as he left the school grounds, laughing amicably with the group of six boys. A smile that she'd wanted to see on his face ever since the first day that she met him.

A smile that had never been there before.

And, with a smile - and shiver, because she _was_ still outside - Sam headed back into the school building to get her own schoolbag from her locker, and head home for the day.

_(Crescenzo's apartment - English: Normal Font, Japanese: Italics)_

"...Happy birthday dear Enzo, happy birthday to you..." Blowing out the candle sitting upon the cupcake with a laugh, Crescenzo remembered all of the good times he'd had with his friends before he'd been transferred to Japan due to a project taken up by his high school. He remembered cracking jokes with the athletic James and excitable gamer Stanley, playing Pokémon with his neighbor and fellow anime-freak Anthony, watching AMV's with the lazy afro-bearing Nico, playing intense games of hockey with the easy-going Leon, and just hanging out and talking about anything an everything with his mountain of a friend Xavier.

These memories flashed through his mind as he blew out the single candle before him, and for once in his life, he wished that they hadn't been separated; that they'd be able to stay together, just like old times.

But, these thoughts were gone just as quickly as they'd appeared as the cupcake, now missing the candle he'd blown out, was shoved into his face by a laughing Stanley. He blinked in surprise at the sudden invasion of chocolate, before he realized what had just happened, and joined his friends as they roared with laughter.

Though nobody noticed it, Enzo gained a dangerous glint in his eye as he spotted Stanley clutching his sides as he howled. Pulling his pointer and middle fingers together, Enzo quickly jabbed them into the blonds' side, eliciting a sharp, girly scream from the thinner boy.

While Stanley was doubled over in surprise and pain, Enzo wrapped his arms around the boy's neck and pulled him close. With a devious grin, the brunet began rubbing his cupcake-smeared cheeks into the younger boy's hair, bringing about another chorus of laughs from the boys and more than a few whines of complaint from Stanley.

While everyone calmed down and went about setting up their laptops for their upcoming escapade into Elder Tale, Stan went to wash out and dry his hair in Enzo's washroom.

When he came back, he found his own laptop set up and ready to go, and he grinned appreciatively at his friends.

"Yo, thanks for setting me up, ey," Stanley raised an eyebrow at Enzo's sudden chuckling, "What's up with you, ey?"

"You said 'ey', I just never realized how spot-on that specific Canadian stereotype is," commented Crescenzo. Stanley flashed Enzo a grin, "What, you got a problem with me saying ey, _ey?"_

More chuckled broke out through the room as the group of friends took their seats around the room, each with a laptop in their... well... laps. Before they could log on, Enzo spoke up.

"Hey, did everyone get the new expansion pack?" he asked, getting a few confused looks from the other boys in the room. Nico was the first to speak up.

"Which one, the Novasphere Pioneers?" Nico only got Enzo's nod in response, and a few 'Oh's from the rest of the 'gang'.

There was a chorus of 'yes's and 'yeah's, and Enzo was glad when he counted six affirmatives.

"Alright, everyone ready?" Enzo waited until everything was quiet, "Let's start!"

Enzo entered his username and passcode, slid his mouse across the screen, hit the 'log on' button...

...and the world went black.

_So, welcome to Kings of the North, a fanfic written by me; King. This is a self-insert fanfic that will closely follow the canon timeline, but, along with myself, my six friends have joined me. (None of their, or my own, names are being used for safety reasons). Though here aren't very many Log Horizon fanfics, I would still appreciate reviews; you know, your thoughts, criticisms (not flames! Flames are only useful for lighting people on fire!), did you like it? Did you not? Why? Anyway, hopefully I'll come out with another one of these soon._

_King signing off_


	2. Ch I - Elder Tale

_**Kings of the North**_

_**By King KK IX**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Log Horizon or any of its characters, I'm only using a couple of them for the story that I am currently writing, a story from which I receive no personal gain.**_

Shout out to dragonsound for being my first review-er on Kings of the North. You watching the Canada vs. Switzerland women's hockey game? Score's 5-0, I was like 0.0 go Canadian women!

_**"**__English..."_

_**"**_**Japanese..."**

"Speaking..."

'Thinking...'

_**Attack Command**_

_Item/Sarcasm/Word Emphasis_

Page Break: -

_**Chapter I - Elder Tale**_

Crescenzo 'Enzo' Giuliano woke up expecting to see the off-white ceiling of his small apartment. What he got was the farthest thing from that he could possible imagine.

Green. That was the first thought that came to mind. Very, very green.

As his vision came into focus, Enzo realized _why_ the world seemed to be green... because he was looking up into the highest, thickest canopy of trees that he'd ever seen in his life. He could feel the thick forest grass beneath his fingertips, and based on the hard substance beneath the back of his head, his head had been leaning against the root of one of these incredibly massive trees.

'Wait a minute... what the fuck?'

The last thing Enzo could remember was most _definitely_ not trees, especially considering that the last thing he remembered was logging onto Elder Tales with his six best friends, who'd all come to visit him in Japan for his sixteenth birthday.

As he tried to get his bearings, he sat up... only to be engulfed in a bout of dizziness. He held his head in his hands, angling his body forwards to try and get rid of the swirling sensation in his stomach.

His hands jerked away from his face as if they'd caught on fire when something _incredibly_ ticklish had run across the backs of his hands.

'Huh... white?'

Why were there strands of white hanging in front of his face? Curious - and still slightly woozy - he tugged on the strands... hard.

"AAGH! What the fuck? That hurt like hell..." Tugging at the strands again - albeit less forcefully - Enzo could clearly feel them attached to his skull, somewhat like hair...

Wait... hair? White? White hair? He didn't have white hair? His hair was bloody brown damnit!

And as Enzo focused, he realized that his hair wasn't just _white_, but really, _really_ long as well. As in - he shook his head, and yelped in pain once more when he felt something holding it down... namely his own ass - yep, at least down to his ass. Probably even longer.

'What in the world happened to me?'

Looking down at his hands, Enzo found long skinny fingers, a far cry from his massive hands with heavy knuckles. He continued looking further, finding himself wearing some sort of white jacket that he recognized as a haori, over a golden Shihakusho with a white sash around his waist.

Draped over his left shoulder was an ornate white cape with a brilliant golden shoulder guard holding it place, three spikes jutting out to the side of the ornament, each larger than the last as they rose farther from the side of his face. The cape was draped in a way that it covered the left side of his body when he stood up, but was held in a way that it didn't overly restrict his movement.

Still swaying slightly, Enzo blew two thin strands of hair from his face, only for them to settle there again. One hung low, the tip of the strand touching the bridge of his nose, but the other barely made it halfway down his forehead. Though Enzo couldn't see it, where his hair was a white the same shade as freshly fallen snow, the roots of his hair were the same color as the shihakusho he was wearing; a regal gold. His bangs hung down rather low, framing his face and nearly reaching his collarbone. The rest of his hair, just as he'd predicted, hung loosely all the way down to the back of his thighs.

Stretching his arms high into the air, Enzo stumbled forward as he tried to come to terms with this (apparent) new body that he suddenly found himself in. So, he wasn't surprised when he stumbled forwards a few steps before landing flat on his face.

'Yup, my legs were most definitely never that long,' Rubbing his nose in a vain attempt to rid it of its throbbing, Enzo became aware of a sudden - and loud - groan coming from somewhere on the other side of the massive tree he'd woken up beside.

Slowly making his way around the massive trunk - because he was still stumbling around like a drunkard - Enzo came face-to-face with someone who was apparently in the same predicament he'd found himself in only moments prior; staring in awed horror at the unfamiliar landscape around them.

"Uh, hi..."

'Wow Enzo, real smooth man,' The person jolted in surprise and shock, barely managing to stumble to their feet.

_"Who the hell are you? Where the fuck am I? What happened?"_ called out the far smaller person.

Enzo could only stare in opened mouth shock at the person in front of him, who sounded _exactly_ like his friend Nico. And he was speaking english, too...

Oh well, it was worth a shot.

_"Nico?"_

The person blinked.

_"Enzo?"_

They stared at each other in shock for a couple of seconds.

_"What the actual fuck..."_ breathed out Nico as he took in Enzo's drastic change in appearance... and height. He was now standing at an easy 6'3 compared to his previous stature of 5'9, and even then this guy seemed thinner, more elegant, than Enzo could ever be.

And in the same way that Nico was disbelieving of Enzo's sudden change in appearance, the Italian-Canadian wouldn't dare to believe that this... midget was Nico.

He was covered from head to toe in jet black ninja garb, straight down to the dagger at his hip and the scarf wrapped around his lower face and trailing behind him slightly in the wind.

To top all of that off, however, was his height of - barely - five-feet four-inches.

Enzo couldn't hold it anymore. Despite the odd - and utterly terrifying - situation they suddenly found themselves in, his peals of laughter could be heard echoing throughout the forest. Clutching his stomach with his right hand, Enzo flapped his left at the sight before him, as if it would wipe it away from his memory banks.

Nico's muttered grumbles and Enzo's raucous laughter were cut-off by the sudden chime of a bell, nothing more than a slight 'ding', but it was a 'ding' that would change their lives forever.

Enzo's hand motions had activated something that suddenly turned their situation from odd to life-changing, when it opened a holographic menu... the very same menu that the two remembered using throughout their many adventures while playing the game Elder Tale.

_"Holy shit..."_ breathed Nico, staring in awe at the small purple and green hexagons suddenly floating in front of Enzo. He moved around to stand beside his now-taller friend, but couldn't make out the language, only the images when he realized that it was written in another language; Japanese.

_"Enzo... what does it say?"_

With a shaky finger, the now-white-haired sixteen year old pointed out three hexagons in the top right corner of the cluster.

_"Name:... Shitsunen. Level:... 90. Game... Elder Tale..."_

At the sudden - and terrifying - realization of just _what_ had happened, Enzo panicked for nearly five minutes straight before Nico helped sit him down so that the two could attempt to think clearly.

Almost immediately Enzo pulled up his menu and his fingers began tapping away at the hexagons in front of him.

Nico was surprised when the sound of a cell's ringtone sounded directly in front of him, and a mall hexagon popped up saying _'Player 'Shitsunen' has invited you to private chat. Accept/Decline?'_

Hastily tapping the _'Accept'_ button, several panicked voices suddenly invaded his sense of hearing. Everyone was speaking at the same time, whilst attempting to speak over each other, so things just got louder and louder until Enzo couldn't take it anymore.

_"Everybody shut up!"_ Enzo's voice called out from both directly in front of Nico, and seemingly inside his right ear, as if he was listening to someone talking through a bluetooth.

And damn was Enzo loud when he wanted to be.

The voices on the other end of what Nico deemed the 'line' quietened as his friend took charge of the situation.

_"Okay, first off, is everyone here? Roll call, from oldest to youngest."_ Nico was surprised, it was rare that he saw this side of Enzo, especially when it was coming out so strongly in spite of their current situation. He only ever became like this during difficult quests when some of the members of their party wouldn't cooperate, and he never reacted to this extent. Suddenly, Enzo's presence seemed reassuring, and everyone in their group was suddenly obeying him without question.

_"Xavier here... Enzo, what's going on?"_ came their large friend's soft voice from the other end of the 'call'. He sounded rather terrified, but neither Nico, nor Enzo, could blame him.

_"Hey Big X, you holding out alright? We'll figure everything out after we make sure everyone's alright, alright?"_ Enzo tried to soothe the slightly panicked boy. His voice was soft and calm, betraying the nervousness Nico could see clearly displayed on his pale and sweating face.

_"Enzo's right you know, we'll figure everything out afterwards, together. Oh, James here, by the way."_ Nico and Enzo nodded at their friend's words.

_"Enzo here, I'm with Nico. You guys _have_ to see him, he's a freakin' midg- ow! The hell, man!"_ That got a snort of amusement from James and a nervous chuckle from Xavier. He could hear a few of the others laughing, or trying not to laugh - or in what was clearly Stanley's case, absolutely roaring in laughter - in the background as well.

_"Leon here, I'm alright,"_

_"Ahaha! St-Stanley here... is N-Nico, haha! Is Nico really a m-midget? Eehehee, haha!"_ Enzo rolled his eyes, and Nico wrapped his arms around his knees and had a proverbial raincloud hanging above his head.

_"Nico here, and I. Am not. A MIDGET! Enzo's point of view is biased, it's not my fault he decided to _turn into a fucking TREE_ while I shrunk a few inches! He has to be almost as tall as Xavier, goddamn it!"_

There was a slight pause in the conversation as everyone tried to take in this new piece of information.

_"Enzo..."_ began James.

_"... is almost... "_ continued Leon.

_"... as tall as... "_ further elaborated Stanley.

_"...me?"_ finished Xavier.

...

_"What the fuuuuck?"_ came the same response from all four of them.

_"Oi, shut up about my height already!"_ Now it was Nico's turn to laugh as Enzo grumbled beneath his own proverbial raincloud.

_"Uh, guys..."_ came Leon's voice over the private chat, _"where's Anthony?"_

Everything was quiet for a few seconds, and when no response came from somewhere on the other end of the 'line', the same thought crossed through all of their minds.

'...Shit...'

And then their youngest friend's voice came over the 'invisible' 'speakers'.

_"Guys..."_ he whispered out, barely loud enough for the six boys to hear him, _"there's spiders. Big, angry, venom-dripping spiders. They're fucking _everywhere!_"_ his voice sounded weak, and terrified, not the kind of terrified that Xavier had been just a few minutes ago, but the kind of terrified that came from fearing for your life, with no way out of the situation and hope fading despairingly quickly.

_"Anthony? Anthony! What the hell's going on, man? Yo!"_ Stanley's voice echoed hollowly through their ears. Enzo sat there, his eyes wide as the terror in his oldest (yet youngest, how ironic) friend's voice rang in his mind and sent shivers down his spine.

And then Nico had a stroke of genius.

_"Yo, everyone's noticed the similarities to Elder Tales, right?"_ He didn't get a reply, but he knew everyone had heard him. _"My subclass was tracker!"_ Enzo's eyes went even wider as Nico began tapping away at the menu hovering before him. He sat there for no more than a few seconds before a victorious glint entered his eyes.

_"Gotcha! It works, I can see some kind of glowing trail on the ground."_ A few more seconds of clicking, _"I tried pulling up a map, but I got nothing. We'll have to go by this."_ Nico looked towards Enzo, getting a quick nod as the older boy stood up, barely taking the time to dust himself off.

_"Lead the way."_ he called to his dark-skinned friend, following his fast pace blindly through the underbrush. He turned his attention to the private chat that they were still a part of, _"Keep your ears open guys, we'll keep you updated."_

_"Found him, the trail's gotten brighter!"_ There were sighs of relief across the board. _"He seems to be in some sort of cave... I think it's a dungeon. Alright, I'm heading in..."_ Nico pulled his hand away from his ear, a habit he seemed to have developed while talking over the 'chat line', and headed stealthily into the cave.

Almost fifteen minutes later Nico's voice came over the 'speaker'.

_"Yo Enzo, I need some serious backup, man. I'm barely putting a dent in these fuckers, and I haven't seen hide-or-hair of Anthony yet."_ The teenager frowned heavily, a crease finding its way between his eyebrows as he dashed in after his friend.

_"I'm on my way,"_ was all he said, but many more thoughts were racing through his mind. He pulled up his menu as he ran, sifting through it until he came upon his Battle Menu. He opened that up, and it displayed a list of attacks floating on his left side. While he scrolled through them with his left hand, his right was opening his items, rolling through that list until he found what he was looking for.

_The Staff of Alighieri._

He pressed the glowing hexagon with a single finger, and the item greyed out before he suddenly found an ornate wooden staff, stained black with the face of a horned devil at the tip, strapped diagonally across his back. He was surprised to find that the staff was as tall as he was, taking his new height into consideration.

Enzo turned the next corner and slid to a stop behind a boulder. Quickly taking stock of the situation, he saw Nico fending off a group of five spiders half his size. They all had black fur and long fangs glistening with green venom, with glowing sickly green eyes.

Selecting the attack _**Virus Flame**_ from his attack menu, Enzo's _Staff of Alighieri_ lit up in an ethereal green glow, before shooting out an orb of dark green flame at the offending spiders.

The flame hit one of the giant spiders, and then quickly split apart and branched off, hitting the other four spiders and sapping their health rapidly. Within moments their forms shattered, leaving only glowing pixels and little rainbow-colored spheres that flew towards, and then into Enzo.

The white-haired teen sighed in relief. _**Virus Flame**_ was far from his most powerful spell, but it was very useful for quantity-type mobs. It would spread to each mob in the zone, dealing equal damage to them for ten seconds until the flame dispersed. Normally, the spell wouldn't be enough to kill a giant spider, but his _Staff of Alighieri_ offered a + 50% bonus attack damage to all Flame element attacks, giving it enough power to OHKO the five giant spider mobs.

Walking over to Nico, who was rubbing the sweat from his brow, Enzo offered him a potion to replenish some of his health with. Nico gratefully accepted the phial, and the two continued on deeper into the cave in search of their friend.

They hadn't encountered any more mobs since the first five, greatly unsettling Enzo, but they had finally reached the last winding bend that emerged into a large cavern. Enzo took a peak around the corner, and found Anthony wrapped up in spider webs, hanging from the ceiling above a veritable sea of giant spiders.

He couldn't help the gasp that escaped from his lips. but apparently it was enough to alert the mobs of his presence. Without a second thought they began charging forwards, spitting their webs, as well as globs of venom, at the two adventurers. Enzo tried casting another _**Virus Flame**_, but he couldn't get his finger anywhere close to the button as he tried to dance around the combined attacks of the spider horde. He cried out in a fit of anger and frustration.

_"Augh! With the dashboard moving around like this, I can't cast my __**Virus Flame**__ spell!"_ Enzo was so surprised by the green glow enveloping his staff that he let himself get hit by one of the acid bombs.

The staff let off a sphere of green flame that blasted into one of the spiders, and then began to rapidly spread to the others. Within moments, the room was completely devoid of any spider's presence, and Nico stared at Enzo open-mouthed.

_"I thought you said you couldn't attack because the dashboard was moving too much?"_ came Nico's voice from the other end of the room.

_"I-I couldn't... all I did was yell in frustration and-..."_ Enzo called back in disbelief.

_"Wait a minute, Enzo, you said you yelled; as in, you called out your attack?"_

_"Yeah, I guess I did, but wh-... no way..."_ his eyes widened in something akin to excitement mixed with hope and anticipation as he pointed the tip of his staff towards the rocky, web-covered, floor of the cave

_"__**Virus Flame!**__"_ yelled Enzo, and he and Nico watched as a familiar green flame shot from the tip of the staff, briefly igniting the surrounding webs before dispersing into a bunch of pixellated data.

Nico and Enzo's momentary moment of awe was interrupted by muffled yells of frustration coming from somewhere on the other end of the cavern. At first, the two tensed up, expecting some sort of new monster.

Then Enzo remembered what they had come here for in the first place.

_"Ah! Anthony!"_

The two teenagers ran to the other end of the room and found Anthony tied up in a cocoon of spider webs. He was flailing and thrashing about as he hung from the ceiling, and it took Enzo some effort to get him to hold still.

_"Nico, can you cut him free?" _asked Enzo, slightly breathless as he held the still struggling Anthony_._ Nico nodded and pulled out his dagger, slowly cutting the sticky bonds off of Anthony's frame.

It was a tedious task, but eventually they managed to get their youngest friend free, and he fell to the floor in a heap.

As Enzo and Nico helped him to his feet, they took in their friend's new appearance. His hair was wild, spiked up in every angle, and was a dark shade of blue the same color as his eyes. He was wearing a thick brown cape with a white leather vest, thick, white leather pants, a brown scarf around his neck and a thick, brown leather belt around his waist, with many pouches hanging off of the sides.

_"You okay there Anthony, you look a little pale?"_ asked Enzo, concerned for his friend's health. Anthony managed to stand on his own, albeit a little shakily, and waved off his concerned friends.

_"I'm... I'm okay. I just want to get out of here..."_ Enzo looked like he wanted to argue, not wanting Anthony to strain himself after what had just happened, but Nico shot him a glare to make him back off.

_"This place is a lot like Elder Tale, Enzo. We don't need those buggers respawning or anything."_ elaborated the fifteen year old, as he tried - and failed - to haul Anthony to the other side of the cavern, where they could see a clear exit.

Slumping his shoulders in defeat, Enzo fell into step beside Nico (which wasn't that hard, mind you), and took the heavy burden from his shoulders, almost casually lifting Anthony's arm over his own shoulders.

The two half-carried, half-dragged their shivering friend to the exit, and as they passed through the white, glowing opening, they suddenly found themselves outside of the cave and in the middle of the forest. Then James' voice came on over the private chat call.

_"What's going on, why's it quiet?"_ he sounded worried as he tried to contact one of the three boys who'd been in the cave.

_"Calm down James. We've got Anthony, he's with us now, but I think he's in shock. We're out of the cave, though, back in the forest."_ Enzo explained calmly.

_"Eh? Forest? You guys are in a forest?"_ came James' shocked reply. Enzo rose an eyebrow, and his stomach twisted into a knot.

_"You're not?"_ He asked, his voice strained.

_"No, I woke up beside some sort of path. I've been walking this whole time. Based on the signs, I'm headed towards some place called Eky-hu-bura."_ Enzo laughed slightly, and then sighed in relief. James meant Akihabara, but it was a little more than obvious that he couldn't pronounce the Japanese word. Enzo remembered that Akihabara was one of the three major cities on the Japanese server. Before he could speak, however, Stanley's voice butted into the conversation.

_"I'm in a city. You guys have to see this, it's _completely_ overrun by nature... This would be an epic setting for a zombie apocalypse game."_

_"Really Stanley? Again with the zombies? Especially at a time like this? Although... from what I remember, I think you're _in _Akihabara city. See if you can try and find an entry gate, look for James. James, can you tell Stanley what you look like?"_ asked Enzo.

_"Actually, I look like I did in reality, maybe just a little more rugged I guess?"_ came James' voice over the 'call'. Enzo nodded, that would definitely make things easier. Then he thought of something else.

_"Hey Leon, Big X, where are you guys?"_ Enzo's inquiring voice asked the two quiet boys.

_"Uh, I'm not really sure. There's a lot of mist everywhere, so I can't see."_ said Xavier.

_"I'm in a forest with big trees. I think I might be close to you Nico,"_ came Leon's calm voice. Enzo didn't even need to say anything, he just set down the now-sleeping Anthony against a tree and watched as Nico dashed off into the forest.

_(Meanwhile, with Stanley)_

'I am hopelessly lost,'

The certainty in which Stanley thought that to himself would make a lesser man weep in envy. Nodding, as if to ascertain the statement only he could hear (think?), Stanley continued to wander through the crowded streets of people panicking left, right and center.

Now... how was he supposed to find a gate into the city? Think Stanley, think! What would you do if this were a zombie game?

... find high ground?

...

'Why didn't I think of that earlier?'

The sound of voices jolted Enzo from his position resting against the tree beside Anthony. Looking around blearily, he realized that he must have fallen asleep while waiting for Nico to return with Leon. He shifted around on the forest floor for a little bit before he managed to get a knee under himself, and push his way into a standing position; he still hadn't gotten used to the odd clothing he was dressed in.

He only had to wait another minute before Nico walked into his line of sight, followed by a boy... fox... thing... he'd never seen before. He was short - but still taller than Nico - and had short, thick, light-brown hair with dark blonde ears poking out of the top of his head. He was wearing a dark blue training gi like the ones Enzo had seen martial artists wear, and had a thick yellow sash tied around his waist. He was barefoot, and didn't seem to have any kind of weapon concealed anywhere on his body, but Enzo was still weary of the newcomer.

_"Close-by my ass! You were on the complete other end of the forest!"_ Nico was yelling at him, and though normally that isn't a good sign, Nico didn't look angry.

Actually, he looked kind of relieved. That, and tired, frustrated, and just a tad hungry.

_"How was I supposed to know that? In case you haven't noticed, there's no longer a map!"_ rebutted the stranger.

'Wait a minute... I know I've heard that voice somewhere before... but where?'

The two came to a stop, and the fox-boy tilted his head when he saw the elegant boy with long white hair standing in the middle of the clearing with a look on his face that made him resemble a deer caught in headlights.

_"Oy, Nico, who's this?"_ the boy spoke, his question directed towards Enzo's ninja-garbed, chibi-fied friend. Nico let out a snort of amusement, and though nobody could see it, an eyebrow had risen beneath his cloth-covered head.

_"Really? Do I honestly have to spell it out for you two?"_

The two spent the next few moments just staring at each other before the fox-boy let out a small 'oh', and then tried to stifle a chuckle.

_"Hah, you look totally gay, Enzo,"_ called out the boy, now barely able to restrain himself from full-out laughing. The white-haired teen turned a healthy shade of pink and sputtered slightly.

_"I-I'm not gay! And I look way better than you... you... fuzzball!"_ Nico laughed as he watched his two friends bicker, until Enzo lifted the newcomer off of the ground by the front of his gi.

_"Who the heck do you think you are, anyway?"_ Enzo looked furious, and slightly paranoid, as he threatened the smaller boy. He was so close that their noses were almost touching and the boy could see the crease lines forming on Enzo's brow.

_"Do you really not recognize me, Enzo? We played on the same hockey team for three years and this is how you treat me?"_ the boy spoke-up, trying to make Enzo realize that he was not an enemy.

Slowly, the older teen put the fox-boy down, his long fingers unraveling themselves from the blue cloth of the boy's garment.

_"... Leon?"_ he asked with the most shocked, betrayed and comically scandalized look that any of the boys in the clearing had ever seen plastered onto his face.

_"The one and only!"_ The clearing was deathly quiet for no more than two seconds before Enzo had Leon in a headlock, and was grinding his knuckles between the boy's new fox ears and into his skull.

_"You scared the bloody shit outta' me, dammit!"_ The two laughed with each other, enjoying the good-natured roughhousing that they'd missed for the past few years. However, their reunion was cut short by a rather pointed cough coming from Nico's direction.

_"A little too much imagery there, Enzo. Bloody shit, really? That's absolutely gross, man,"_ he teased, getting an indignant splutter from Enzo and a snorting laugh of amusement from Leon.

After the three had finally calmed down and put their heads together (and made sure the still-comatose Anthony was fine), they had decided it was time to get serious.

_"Alright, there's four of us gathered together in the forest, one in Akihabara city, one headed there, and one who's hopelessly lost. What's the next plan of action?"_ said Nico. He and Leon turned their heads in Enzo's direction, as if to say the decision was his to make. Enzo pointed a finger at his chest with a surprised look on his face, as if to say 'me, really? Are you guys sure?' All they had to do was nod, before Enzo adopted a serious look on his face.

_"...Ok... ok, let's see. I'm concerned about Big X, the poor guy's all alone right now, but we have to make sure _everyone_ can get to safety in the shortest amount of time. So... Nico, use your skill to track Stanley, that'll get us into Akihabara city. If he hasn't found James yet, the two of you will have to go and search for Big X. Anthony and I will help Stanley with finding James."_ planned out Enzo. He received nods of agreement from the other two, so he continued with his explanation.

_"If Stanley and James _have_ made contact, I'll leave them with Anthony and come with you guys. We'll establish a meeting spot incase any of us get split up."_ Enzo finished. Neither of the boys seemed to have any qualms with his plan, and Enzo had to blink a few times before he realized that they honestly didn't mind having him come up with the plan.

Despite their current situation, Enzo couldn't help the feeling of smugness that overcame him for a few seconds.

_"Alright! The next order of business, make it to Akihabara!"_ exclaimed Enzo, who despite his in-game appearance of being the elegant one, was always the most outgoing of the three.

Lifting the unconscious Anthony over his shoulder, Enzo set off behind Nico and Leon into the forest of massive trees to brave the next thing that this twisted mock-world decided to throw at them.

_Alrighty-then, so, that's the first chapter of Kings of the North! I know it took me a month to write this, but it really doesn't feel like it. I wrote the first 4000 words of the chapter in three days, and then I hit a speed bump. For three weeks I didn't touch this story, and then suddenly, BAM! I'm writing again. I fixed some things up, changed a few parts I didn't like and finished the chapter. This thing's almost 5000 words long. 5000 words!_

_Oh, and about the seemingly odd prologue, that has some significance later-on. Don't worry, it'll make sense._

_When you look at me, you see a man ready to brave the world on his own. When I see me, I see a little boy who's scared of everything and doesn't know what to do, but because you see me as a man, I can look at my fears and tell them 'I'm not scared,' because you told me I could face them._

_- King KK IX_


End file.
